China Glaze

Holiday Glitz: China Glaze Emerald Sparkle Nail Lacquer

China Glaze Emerald Sparkle Nail Lacquer ($3.50 to $6.00 for 0.5 fl. oz.) is a signature shade for the holidays. I remember practically fall over myself trying to track it down without paying ridiculously inflated eBay prices and failing. This year, it is part of the Love You Snow Much Set, which also includes Tinsel (light silver), Ruby Pumps (ruby red), and 5 Golden Rings (pale gold). I love Emerald Sparkle so much, I feel it deserves its own post. I’ll review the entire set tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Emerald Sparkle is a shimmery rich emerald green. It is a deep, dark forest green base mixed with brighter, more emerald green shimmer. The combination is absolutely stunning, both in natural light, sunlight, and indoor lighting. It sparkles and shimmers, and it is so suitable for the holiday season. It’s also a dream to apply; smooth and pigmented, it only needs two coats to obtain a rich, lush green that is entirely opaque. This is definitely one of my favorite China Glaze shades to date, and it also has one of the best formulations amongst the brand’s line-up.

Would you rock Emerald Sparkle?

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Product: 29/30

Value: 9/10

Ease of Use: 5/5

Packaging: 4/5

Recommendation: If you love lush green shades for your nails, I’m pretty sure you should be the owner of Emerald Sparkle… and make haste!

It’s a re-release of a collection by the same name from 2001. I never owned the original set, so I couldn’t tell you if there’s any variance between the two. The materials I received said it was “very similar to the original version that was released in 2001,” so I imagine they may have revamped or improved their formula in the past eight years and that’s why they’re not identical.

Ruby Pumps is a gorgeous shade of ruby red with lots of deeper red shimmer particles laced throughout. It’s a shade that catches light well and just sparkles. Ruby Pumps has always been one of my favorite shades by China Glaze; it’s also included in the Love You Snow Much set for holiday. This applies opaquely with two medium-thick coats and goes on smoothly.

The Ten Man is a semi-sheer slightly silvered clear base with silver sparkle. I found this one was hard to make opaque, even with three medium-thick coats. The shimmer didn’t seem to apply as uniformly as the other five in this launch, but I like the shade itself. I’d probably wait longer between coats and do thicker coats as well, perhaps even use a silver or grayish base for a more opaque look.

Cowardly Lyin’ is a bright, yellow-based metallic gold base with gold shimmer. Like The Ten Man, I found this one was harder to get to be completely opaque (you can see the tip of my nail). It’s more opaque than The Ten Man, but I’d, personally, prefer a more opaque base. I really like the color, though – it’s a very true gold; it reminds me of lions, for sure, and it’s perfect for the holidays.

Good Witch is a slightly cool paled down rosy pink with pink sparkle. The pink sparkle in this one seemed a little chunkier than some of the others, which isn’t a problem for me, but just something I noted. This one went opaque in three medium-thick coats.

C-C-Courage is a deep, rich purple with a cool undertone. It’s a dark purple base with lighter icy purple and silver sparkle. This one only needed two medium-thick coats to look opaque (even one gets you close).

Dorothy Who? is an oceanic blue with lighter and deeper blue sparkle. I actually thought this one was particularly stunning in person! I wasn’t so sure at first, when I saw the bottle, but it really is lovely. It sparkles quite nicely when the light hits it. It takes at least three medium-thick coats to get an opaque look, perhaps even three thicker coats.

Overall, I really liked the formula, texture, and look of the shades included in this collection. I absolutely loved Ruby Pumps, Cowardly Lyin’, and Dorothy Who? — those would be my top three picks out of the six. While I normally love, love China Glaze and its formula, I do feel that a lot of these run on the sheerer side. Ruby Pumps and C-C-Courage are the biggest exceptions to this, as they meet my expectations from China Glaze!

I have to say this, though: why is there no Emerald City? I know China Glaze has Emerald Sparkle, which would have certainly been fitting to this launch. I don’t know; I really expected to see a green in a collection about the Wizard of Oz, you know? Kind of left me hanging in that respect.

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Product: 27/30

Value: 9/10

Ease of Use: 4/5

Packaging: 4/5

Recommendation: If you’re looking to add some sparkle–but not glitter–China Glaze’s Wizard of Ohh Ahz Collection has you covered!

China Glaze: Glitter Polishes — Preppy Pink

China Glaze Preppy Pink Nail Lacquer ($3.20 to $7.00) is a warmed-up, medium pink with a yellow undertone with a mix of lilac, silver, and icy pink square-shaped glitter. Preppy Pink is part of China Glaze’s fifty new glitter polishes, along withAtlantis and Meteor Shower, which I reviewed earlier this week.

Preppy Pink has a pink jelly base that goes on opaque in two medium-thick coats, and the glitter itself rises to the top and sparkles prettily. Like the other two new glitter shades I’ve tried from China Glaze’s latest batch, the quality of and the way the formula applies is fantastic. Glitter polishes are, by their nature, not smooth to the touch, though a thicker top coat can help minimize the feel–it’s hard to completely mask it, though. It’s a lovely shade of pink, and I’m so pleased to see a warm pink, too.

Are you loving or hating this Preppy Pink shade?

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Product: 28/30

Value: 9/10

Ease of Use: 4/5

Packaging: 4/5

Recommendation: For a pretty light pink–probably most suitable for spring–Preppy Pink is a good one to check out!

China Glaze Meteor Shower Nail Lacquer ($3.20 to $7.00) is a rich, dark navy blue with multi-colored square glitter with predominantly cobalt blue sparkle. Meteor Shower is part of China Glaze’s fifty new glitter polishes, along withAtlantis, which I reviewed earlier this week.

While Atlantis applied with a more semi-opaque jelly base, Meteor Shower applies opaque in two coats and looks fairly dark on the nail. Some of the glitter seemed to submerge within the color base, but I still had a good amount show through, so it wasn’t a big deal. I found application and quality to mirror what I’ve come to expect from China Glaze (excellent and excellent), so it’s really a matter of whether this is a shade that calls to you or not! For me, it’s not my favorite shade yet… I am bound to find at least one (or ten) that are much more my style within the fifty, though! If you have any recommendations from the new line-up, I’d love to hear ’em!

What say you? Is Meteor Shower your new best friend?

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Product: 28/30

Value: 9/10

Ease of Use: 4/5

Packaging: 4/5

Recommendation: For a dark navy glitter polish, Meteor Shower has you covered!

China Glaze Atlantis Nail Lacquer ($3.38 to $6.99) is just one of fifty new specialty shades slowly being released by China Glaze.Atlantis is a semi-opaque subdued teal jelly base with teal and multi-colored glitter laced throughout. I found two coats gave you a decent look, but three would really give you a more opaque look. The formula was easy to use, and I found it to be chip-proof and lasted all week. I like the color, but I’m confident that there are other shades I’d probably love more so. However, after trying this shade, I really want to check out Medallion, Solar Flare, and Treasure Chest…

Anyone else try China Glaze’s new glitter shades?

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Product: 28/30

Value: 9/10

Ease of Use: 4/5

Packaging: 4/5

Recommendation: If you’re still lovin’ glittery nails, be sure to check out the slew of new shades from China Glaze!